Looking for a Ghost
Lyra had told us old stories, quiet talks about
people who fought back when the
government first tried to control them. One
name came up: Taina. A werewolf who people
said knew about human machines and was
very strong and didn't like being told what to
do. Finding her felt like a small chance, a
desperate hope. Our trip to find any sign of
her became the main problem in this part,
taking us through old werewolf paths that
were forgotten and the edges of where
humans lived. The suspense was whether
Taina was even real and how dangerous it
was to look for her. We moved quickly, just
trying to find her, and we weren't sure what we
would find.
The big, strange werewolf
disappeared back into the shadows as fast as
it came, leaving us not breathing well and
scared. Seeing it reminded us that when we
messed with the network, bad things could
happen that we didn't understand yet. But
even though we were scared, Lyra's words
stayed in my mind – quiet stories of fighting
back, of people who had fought from the very
start.
"There were stories," Lyra had said,
her quiet voice almost like praying. "Even
before they controlled everyone… some
people fought back. Strong people… strong
minds."
One name came from those old stories, a
name that felt like a small bit of hope in the
growing darkness: Taina. A werewolf, the
stories said, who knew a lot about human
machines, a mind that could understand both
our world and theirs, and a spirit that was very
strong and didn't want to obey.
Finding her felt like trying to catch a
ghost. The stories were old, broken pieces,
told quietly around fires that were going out.
No one we knew had ever met her. She was
like a dream, a legend, a small chance that
might help us.
"Do you really think she's real?" Jax
had asked, his usual rough voice sounding a
little doubtful. Seeing the changed werewolf
had made him even more careful.
"Lyra seems to think so," I answered, looking
far away, imagining someone who didn't obey
in a world where everyone was being
controlled. "And if even a little bit of the
stories are true… she might be the only one
who can help us."
Our trip to find any sign of Taina
became what we focused on, a big problem
because we really needed answers and
maybe someone to help us. Lyra, using old
information and how werewolves used to
move, led us through old paths that were hard
to see, paths that time had covered up, taking
us to the edges of where werewolves lived
and where the broken human world was.
The old werewolf paths were hard to
see, just small tracks through thick forests
and rocky places. They showed a time before
the Enforcers, a time when our kind moved
freely, following old ways because of our
feelings and the changing seasons. Now,
these paths were mostly empty, like ghosts of
a freedom we lost.
We met small groups of werewolves
who were careful and looked at us with fear
and doubt. The controlling effect was clear in
how slowly they moved and how they didn't
want to talk much. When we asked about
Taina, they often just stared or shook their
heads nervously. The name seemed to be
from a long time ago, a memory they had
forgotten.
"They don't remember," I said to Lyra,
sounding annoyed after asking again and
getting nothing. "Or they're scared to."
"The controlling power is everywhere," Lyra
reminded me gently. "Memories, especially
about fighting back, might be hidden from
them."
Our search also took us to the
edges of where humans used to live – empty
towns that nature had taken over, their broken
buildings standing like quiet signs of a lost
world. Here, in the ruins, we hoped to find
clues, things left from a time when Taina
might have talked to humans, using the
knowledge of their machines that people said
she had.
The human ruins were dangerous,
with buildings that could fall down and
Enforcer patrols that might still be there. We
moved carefully, our senses sharp. One wrong
step could bring their control down on us.
In the dusty remains of an old
library, Lyra managed to get into a broken
computer. We spent hours looking through
lost files, hoping to find any mention of Taina,
any link between a werewolf and human
machines from when the government was
first getting strong.
"There's something," Lyra said one
evening, her eyes glowing a little with
excitement. "An old report… talks about a
'person not known' who knew a lot about old
ways of talking to each other… active in this
area."
The report had a lot of parts blacked out and
names and details hidden, but the time it
happened was when the government was first
taking control. Could this "person not known"
be Taina?
The suspense grew with each small
piece of information we found, each quiet
echo of people fighting back in the past. But
the danger of looking for Taina was always
there. If she was still alive, she would
probably be hidden very well, someone the
government would want to catch. Our search
could bring unwanted attention to us, putting
us all in danger.
One evening, sitting around a small
fire, Jax said what he was worried about.
"What if this Taina is just a story? What if
we're looking for a ghost while they're
controlling things even more?" Seeing the
changed werewolf had clearly scared him.
"We have to try, Jax," I said strongly, looking at
the fire. "Lyra's information, the old stories…
there's something there. And if there's even a
small chance she can help us… we have to
take it."
Our search took us deeper into the
wild, following a strange clue from an old
werewolf carving – a picture of a moon
howling above a broken wheel. Lyra thought it
might be a meeting place, where the natural
world and human machines might come
together.
The picture led us to a hidden valley,
covered in mist and old trees. In the middle of
the valley was a broken stone building, half
covered by the forest. It looked like an old
human place for watching the stars, its roof
long gone.
As we got closer to the building, a
low growl came from inside. It wasn't the
deep snarl of the changed werewolf, but a
deeper sound, like someone thinking
carefully.
Jax got tense, his hand going to his
sword. "Someone's inside."
We moved carefully towards the entrance, the
air feeling full of waiting and a bad feeling.
The chance of finding Taina felt closer than
ever, but so did the chance of danger.
Inside the observatory, the air was
cold and damp. Moonlight came through the
holes in the roof, making scary shadows on
the broken machines. In the middle of the
room, someone came out of the darkness.
It was a werewolf, older than any I
had ever seen. Her fur had grey in it, and her
eyes, though sharp and smart, looked very
tired. But there was also a spark in them, a
little bit of not giving up that time or being
controlled hadn't taken away.
"Who are you?" she growled, her
voice rough but strong.
"We're looking for someone named Taina," I
said, my heart beating fast.
The old werewolf's eyes got narrow. A long
quiet time hung in the air, full of old stories
and the hard work of staying alive.
Then, a slow smile that knew things
spread across her face. "You've found her."
I felt a wave of relief, mixed with a sudden
feeling of hope. We had found her. The ghost
was real. But as Taina stepped more into the
moonlight, I saw something else, something
that made me feel uneasy again. Scars went
across her arms, complicated and done on
purpose, making patterns that looked
strangely like… machines. And one of her eyes
wasn't the normal gold of a werewolf, but a
shiny, silver metal. What secrets did this old
survivor have? And what bad things had
happened to her because of her knowledge
and her fighting back? The answers, I felt,
were much more complicated and dangerous
than we could ever imagine.